Troy, Farmington Hills police investigating rash of stolen tires

Police continue to investigate a rash of tire thefts from higher-end vehicles in two cities this week.

Troy had two incidents take place sometime overnight Monday. The first, in the 1000 block of Woodside, involved a Troy woman's 2012 Chrysler 300. The rear window was smashed on the woman's car and all four wheels and tires were stolen, with the car left up on bricks, Troy police said.

The second Troy theft incident was reported by a business representative from a Buick and GMC dealership at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The representative told Troy police that all tires were taken from a 2013 Buick Lacrosse, and -- again -- the car was left on bricks in the lot on 1850 W. Maple Road.

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The same happened to three vehicles near Grand River Avenue and Drake Road in Farmington Hills on Wednesday.

A 2005 Chrysler 300, a 2013 Ford Taurus and a 2011 Cadillac CTS were left up on bricks, following the crimes that take a bit more skill than the smash-and-grab thefts from vehicles, said Farmington Hills Commander Matt Koehn.

"It's a lot less common because it's more specialized," said Koehn. "It's also more difficult than theft from vehicles, so it takes more time."

All three vehicles had their wheels and tires stolen around 4 a.m. and were all parked in the area of the cross streets, said police.

Koehn said that while thefts of tires and wheels are less common in the realm of auto larceny, there does often tend to be more than one incident.

Suspects are described as two men wearing dark clothing who were seen driving a black Ford F-150 pickup truck.

This string of thefts reminds Troy Sgt. Andy Breidenich of a case in 2010 involving a GPS unit-stealing ring that was run out of a local Troy auto parts yard.

The investigation uncovered that the units were shipped across America, ending up in Florida and other unlikely places.

"Our usual mode of operations is to start doing surveillance work and out together a list of possible suspects," said Breidenich. "We do that by gathering lists of people who were convicted for similar offenses."

As of right now, though, the two incidents in Troy are still under investigation, said the sergeant.

Farmington Hills' Koehn said the three incidents in his city are also being investigated, but he's happy that there haven't been more similar thefts since they occurred.

There are no suspects in custody in either of these cases yet, according to the respective police departments.